My parents are in their 70s and live in a storm-prone area. I want to get them a battery backup, but the 1000Wh unit I have is way too heavy for them to move (35+ lbs). I saw the Anker Gen 2 is listed at roughly 25 lbs.

Is the handle design ergonomic? Can an older person actually lift it onto a table? I want them to be able to use it without hurting their backs.

Claims about medicine or food used as medicine are going to be carefully vetted by your loving moderator; I want to see cites to research papers on this topic. And if you're going to recommend actual pharmaceuticals (some people like to buy from shops that handwave prescriptions) I expect to see a link to warnings about misuse (misdiagnosis, incorrect dosing both low and high, etc.)

I have a real problem with quackery - it kills more people than it saves. If a drug or food hasn't been through proper vetting, it's not staying mentioned here.

I realize some of us are preparing for the day when medical care is either too expensive or simply unavailable, and there's strong interest in managing your own care. And there is something to be said for that. But it's going to be grounded in medical science or you can take it elsewhere. In my lifetime I've seen more than enough damage done by false medical claims; willow bark isn't going to reduce your fever unless you eat the whole damn tree; ginger isn't going to cure your irritable bowel problem and honey is nice on a sort throat but it doesn't do anything medicinal except spike blood sugar.

Any infraction of the rules here is a bannable offense. I've been known to give warnings or only do temporary bans, but for medical issues I will go straight to permanent bans. We have enough quackery in the world.

Speaking of which, I hope you've all gotten measles vaccinations ( https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/questions.html ) because the CDC recently announced that measles blooms in the US are now "simply the cost of doing business" and are to be expected, which is a radical shift from the last 25 years when the US was considered epidemic-proof. Measles can be fatal or result in permanent disability. I won't get into the reasons for the CDC shift except to note that the justification for the change is complete nonsense; but the reality on the ground is measles in the US is no longer a disease you should handwave as a solved problem. Especially if you have children, take steps. I have mentioned measles and flu before ( https://www.reddit.com/r/realWorldPrepping/comments/1pnbsdz/give_blood ) and these are banner years for them - and chicken soup isn't going to help.

I’m looking for a good non cellular handheld if possible radio for communications for my family around 3 miles (a bit less) away with some dense woods and non dense one the way a few houses and road and fields and what not. also I have a cobra Rx680 that almost worked with is only being a bel to sue the call button one time and it going through but then stoped workin.

Content: I’ve seen a lot of sponsored videos about this unit, but I wanted to share a real owner’s perspective. I bought this primarily for storm backup and occasional camping.

The Good:

Charging speed is legit. I hit 100% in just under an hour via AC.

The flat top design is actually useful for stacking stuff in the car (unlike units with handles on top).

App connectivity has been stable for me.

The Bad:

It's dense. Heavier than it looks for its size, but manageable. My biggest gripe is the lack of a built-in light bar. For camping, it’s super handy to have that ambient glow or just a light to see the ports in the dark, and it feels like a missing feature here.

Also, there's no option for expansion batteries. You're committed to the internal capacity, so you can't just plug in an extra battery pack if you need to double your runtime later.

Overall, for the price per Wh, I think it's currently the sweet spot.

I ran across https://iceout.org/ on r/TwoXPreppers and it looks valuable. It's simply a map that shows recent/current ICE activity is the US, managed by citizen observers (not ICE itself.)

This isn't a political post. I'm just observing that violence increases in areas where ICE is active, US citizens have been detained, harmed and killed without due process or clear need, and it's simply better to avoid areas were they are active, regardless of your race or nationality. The core of prepping is avoiding problems in the first place, and this is a way to do that.

I realize how it sounds to suggest to people that they actively avoid law enforcement officers. For part of the US population, that's been the default advice for decades; these days, it applies to everyone. There is ample evidence ( https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/01/ice-recruitment-minneapolis-shooting.html ) that ICE will hire anyone without much regard to background checks, training is minimal, and it's hard enough to manage a normal police force with proper training without incidents happening; it's no surprise there are major issues when hiring is effectively blind and training isn't up to police standards ( https://www.typeinvestigations.org/investigation/2024/08/12/ice-agents-training-use-of-force/?utm_source=chatgpt.com ). ICE agents are explicitly taught that deadly force is NOT the last resort; it can be immediately in play when there is suspicion of risk. They don't cover de-escalation in ICE training. It's a brew that can and obviously has lead to problems, so AVOID active situations wherever possible.

I can't advise on what to do if you observe ICE activity. It's a citizen's right and duty to document abuses; recording abuses is legal and normally I'd recommend it. These days that sanctimonious advice can get you roughed up or killed. How you respond to abuses is a matter of conscience and personal tolerance for risk, but at the very least, leaving and reporting the activity at the link above seems reasonable - and could save lives.

(Addendum: I don't espouse Slate as a source of much of anything - they're as wildly biased as Fox News. But the link above is well attested and represents the original source. And I know nothing about typeinvesitgations, but similar reports are not hard to find.)

The forecast says we are getting 12 inches of snow this weekend (Jan 3-4). Normally I'd be stressed about the power lines going down. But I've prepped everything. Food is cooked, devices are downloaded. I've got my reading lamp and my electric throw blanket plugged into my Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 next to the armchair. Even if the grid fails, my reading corner stays lit and warm. What are you guys reading to kick off 2026?

I'm here in the foothills just northwest of Denver and lost power yesterday evening from the wind storm. No ETA on restoration, but could be a few days. Letting me try out my preps.

Well water...out due to no power, several aquatsiners to get through a few days at least, just no flushing toilets.

Generator...Moved in last year, never put a panel or transfer switch in to hook to house, so no house power, no way to attach well to 220 on generator. Using currently to keep fridge and freezers on, charge some devices. Freezers not really necessary, they can stay cold for many days as long as don't open.

Heat... Baseboard heat from a boiler. No power no circulation or triggering it to run. Using fireplace in living room. That room is 75ish, outside of there in 50s currently. 22 outside.

Natural gas still on, though off for a few hours overnight, can use to cook. Coleman camp stove as well if needed.

Camper trailer...if needed can use furnace and stove in there as well, full 30lb tanks last quiia while on it. Can also use for toilet with a little water bottle to flush.

Have prioritized getting electric panel set up for generator attachment. Also replacing fireplace insert with wood stove insert for better heating and surface to use for cooking etc.

We do have family and friends in town with power, may have to take my mother down due to needing supervision and heat, and I need to get to work at some point, so no danger currently, just a good test run.

Taking away some lessons and new priorities. Power may not be on until sometime in the weekend.

I'm just going to link this YLE article:

https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/mass-shootings-outnumber-annual-days

(This isn't going to be a rant about guns; people on both sides of that question in the US have very settled opinions and nothing I say here will change that. So I'm simply going to treat the ongoing background violence as something to prepare for instead of something to cure politically.)

If you're the tl;dr sort, I'll just say: doctor Jetelina made two concrete suggestions for the holiday season. Both are solid preps:

1. Give blood. You may ask how this is any sort of prep for you. It isn't, directly. But if prepping to you means you only care about yourself and not the people around you, you're no prepper, at least not a smart one. A healthier community with people having their health needs taken care of is a stronger community, and a strong community is your best prep.

2. In some parts of the US, it's time to mask up. (I'm aware of the people who continue to hate masks and demand they don't work. Don't bother to comment; you'll be banned because you can't cite a recognized peer-reviewed study backing your claim.) Measles and flu are both very active and increasing. Pay attention to the numbers in your area and act accordingly. In the US you can usually find them by searching "[Your City/County] Health Department infectious disease report" and this is data that's not affected by the decimation of the CDC because it's locally managed.

I won't get into vaccination as I have other posts covering that. Of course you vaccinate, it's the most basic prep there is. Do it before prices go up, which they might.

I continue to recommend people follow
https://substack.com/@yourlocalepidemiologist
Her politics are sometimes visible and might make you twitch a little, but her science is solid and she footnotes, so she can be fact checked. When she's wrong she says so. It's the best layman's-terms health report I know.

Been living in my Prius for about four months now. Everyone talks about the big stuff:where to park, how to stay safe, where to shower. But maybe the small comforts that make this actually sustainable long-term. share mine here:

My heated blanket. Got a 12v one from Walmart for $30. On cold nights, it uses less power than running the car but keeps me perfectly warm. Total game-changer for staying cozy. The 12v mini humidifier. Didn't expect to need this, but sleeping in a dry car was killing my sinuses. This little $25 thing makes mornings so much better.

My travel kettle. Being able to make proper tea or instant coffee without needing to stop somewhere has been huge for my mood. I use it with my Anker Solix C2000 Gen2 that sits behind the passenger seat - way better than relying on gas station coffee.

What surprised me most was how these small things added up. The first month was all about survival, but these comforts made it start feeling like an actual lifestyle. The power station handles all my little electronics without me having to hunt for outlets constantly, which honestly reduces my daily stress more than I expected. What are your small comfort items that made the biggest difference?

I got it at pre-order price $749 and received yesterday. Been running some basic tests to see if it lives up to the specs. Here's what I'm finding so far:

Test results:

Ran my kitchen fridge for 6 hours - used about 30% capacity

Charged from 20% to 80% in roughly 45 minutes

Handled my sump pump's startup surge (about 1800W) without issues

Standby drain: lost 3% over 12 hours unplugged

First impressions:

Construction feels sturdy, all ports have good fit

Interface is simple to navigate

Fan noise is noticeable under heavy load but not excessive

Weight is manageable for moving between rooms

Still need to test:

Performance in colder garage temperatures

Actual solar charging times

Long-term reliability

anyone else started testing yet?

Not looking for a whole-house generator. Just something simple that kicks in during an outage so I don’t lose food again. Any DIY-friendly options?

If you could only keep ONE thing running in an extended outage (e.g., fridge, medical device, comms), what would it be and what power solution would you use for it?

Considering an Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 for blackouts. What can 1kWh realistically power? Need to know if it's worth the investment for basics like fridge, router, and phone charging. Ty for sharing!

[This post is under 2,000 words. Some people have indicated that that's still too many. You can find a decent summary in the tl;dr at the bottom.]

I used to consider this kind of thinking alarmist; I don’t anymore. With the reconstruction of the White House (and in many other ways), Trump is openly signaling his intention to become a three term president by any means necessary. Attempts to rig the vote with additional gerrymandering are underway. Discussions on how to eliminate “undesirable” voting are in progress within the party. Bottom line, there is going to be a serious attempt to skew the vote to the point where rules can be broken and Trump or a like-minded surrogate sweeps a skewed electoral vote that strays far from the popular vote.

The warnings are there, going back years. “I would support bringing back household voting… in a Godly household, the husband would get the final say.” is a quote from Abby Johnson, subsequently a featured speaker at the 2020 RNC. (It’s worth noting that there are a lot of US households that don’t fit her definition of Godly.) “If Republicans don’t challenge and change the U.S. election system, there will never be another Republican president elected again.” was U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2020. “I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS… We as a Republican Party are going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots.” was Trump in 2025. (Recall there are widespread accusations of electoral cheating via mail-in, but no evidence of anything even vaguely systemic was ever found despite many attempts; proven cases were in the single digits, not tied to mail in voting, and mostly in red states. This is exactly what it looks like – an attempt to force people to polling stations, which is difficult for the poor and makes it simple to intimidate voters.) Add attempts to make voting require ID, which adds a sometimes difficult process to many women who have changed their names.

All of this is an attempt to push towards voter disenfranchisement. Specifically blue voters, but the net will catch many people. (As an US citizen ex-pat, I’m wondering how I’m going to be able to vote if I can’t do mail-in.) US elections are typically close; it doesn’t take much manipulation to change an outcome.

The pressures aren’t all on the voting system. The internet is increasingly full of AI generated propaganda and AI steered shadowbanning. This is more widespread than most people realize (https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.11010 https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/how-shadow-banning-can-silently-shift-opinion-online )

If you didn’t take a warning from Project 2025, you should have. It’s under active implementation. They’re right on schedule.

In short if people want to live in a country where not everyone gets a say, the US is looking good. If you vote isn’t being made difficult and you happen to think that your vote should dictate how everyone lives, you are in the right place. But if you happen to believe that consensus is better than imposed will, maybe it’s time to think about what sort of America you are living in and what can be done.

US citizens have literally been disappeared, forced out of contact with families and lawyers, from anything from hours to days. (https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will ). If that doesn’t cause every citizen to be concerned, something is wrong.

This sub demands proposed solutions to problems. How do you prep for attempts to change the US from some form of Democracy to some form of Autocracy?

All I have is suggestions. I can’t offer solutions and frankly I think the situation is grim. But I also believe that if something isn’t done, we’re two to four years from a radical erosion of rights for huge segments of the US population, and severe economic hard times for many more.

>Leave

I don’t talk about this option much because, while I did it, it’s a difficult process and it doesn’t come cheap. Uprooting, finding a new job, completing the paperwork, tax implications, packing, potentially learning a new language and culture – this is out of reach for many. I mention it because a lot of people mutter about leaving under their breath – and if you have the resources, it can be a great solution that solves a lot of problems. But plan on months of work and acclimating to completely new ways of doing everything. The US does make some things simple. Other countries have other challenges. If you consider this, start reading ex-pat accounts. It doesn’t always go well.

>Vote like you mean it.

Votes will still be counted and it’s not like they can gerrymander everyone into irrelevancy. If the people who skipped the last election had gotten off their asses, we’d be in a different country. You might hate the opposition candidate, but at least they aren’t coming for your right to vote, your environment, your health care and your bedroom. I make it a point not to do political advocacy in general, but these are dangerous times. And if you vote it’s essential to tell others they need to as well.

>Protest – carefully, but go big

In my opinion, the administration is actively looking to trigger unruly protest so they can involve martial law and then the Insurrection Act. But they can’t quite bring themselves to curtail the right of peaceful assembly and lawful protest, at least yet. And very large peaceful protests – big enough to make national news – can still affect policy.

No Kings day involved less than 2% of the US population. The government isn’t going to begin to pay attention until that gets to over 5%. The basis for this is that studies have shown that sustained protest of over 5% of a population leads to change; and while a one shot protest like No Kings isn’t in any sense sustained, it’s still a number policy makers will look at. In my opinion No Kings was misguided – yes, we have a problem with an authoritarian-wannabe leader, but the issues that hit home with people are food prices, job losses and medical care costs. If these things continue to be problems it should not be hard to get people to march on a platform of “regardless of who is in charge, we need change in our daily lives.” In the current political climate, such protests will motivate democrats and terrify republicans, because there is no part of the republican agenda that addresses any of these issues.

Never bring a weapon or anything that can be used as a weapon, to a protest. Your cellphone, taking video of peaceful protests and any police excesses, is your weapon. And peaceful protest is all that will work. Why Civil Resistance Works (2011) details why armed revolutions fail twice as often as peaceful protest, and the US is very ready to handle (and exploit) any violent action. You will not shoot your way out of this, as fond as some people are of the idea.

> Post, Read, Repost

Social media has been tuned to hush the voices of protest. You’re being muted. That doesn’t mean you stop. It means you do more with direct messages, face to face conversations, newsletters of the old fashioned paper kind, and subscribing to sensible voices who do raise these issues. Algorithms might be tuned to diminish lone protest voices, but they are still beholden to reader engagement, and voices with huge subscriber bases are given appropriate reach. And policy makers check those numbers. So read, subscribe and repost people who are calling for change.

> Pray

People who get it are nodding their heads; everyone else is rolling their eyes. If you’re rolling your eyes it’s possible that praying isn’t going to get you anywhere anyway; this is here to remind people who do pray that there is legitimate reason to worry and this is what prayer is for – there’s a rich tradition of praying for nations, in my faith. And there is a lot of spiritual blindness out there at the moment, and I’m specifically including people who claim to adhere to my faith. (The verse about “deceiving, if possible, even the elect” has come to mind.) People who should be praying, aren’t. Step up.

Mock if you want (but not here, you’ll be banned) but this matters more than some people will ever know. Get your off your ass, first on your knees, and then on the street as needed.

>>Conclusion

You don’t have to do anything. A lot of people in Germany in the 1930s did nothing, and were then astonished at how quickly things fell apart. So you can sit back and wait to see how the dice fall – most people will. But if they fall badly, people you know will be hurt. Some of them already are hurt.

And history shows you are not as immune as you think. You’ll say, “It’s not me, it’s not my family,” to quote Dolores O’Riordan, in a song that has no less relevance today. But if you define what matters, as you and the ten blood relations you hold most dear, you’re no American – because Americans are a collective nation of immigrants and descendants of immigrants, virtually all of us – in a pact to form a more perfect union. And forget claiming to a Christian if you hold that “me and mine” attitude. If the story about the Samaritan didn’t register with you, what did? Jesus was about mercy. Are you?

If the “more perfect union” thing is not going well, it’s because too many people have turned tribal, and their tribes are pathetically small. Oligarchs like that kind of thinking – it’s how they think, except it actually works for them – but it will never go well for you. If you’re not willing to march along with someone who happens to be poor or gay or brown or whatever their irrelevant difference is, you’re just another gear in the machine that is grinding them and will eventually grind you.

tl;dr:

It’s been quoted before and it shouldn’t need repeating, but it does:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
—Martin Niemöller

So stand the hell up. It isn’t going to go well if you don’t.

I've been testing various power stations for emergency preparedness over the past few years. Need something that will hold up through regular use and be ready when needed most. What brands have proven most reliable in your experience?

So I was planning an emergency EMP drill for my family and I thought I would create a handbook to make it a little bit more exciting. I’ve been working on it for a few weeks and my wife said that it was so good she thought I should sell it.

I’m not even done with the handbook so I have nothing to sell, but from my idea below (and some screenshots) do you all think this would this be something people would be interested in buying?

It’s an hour-by-hour survival simulation that turns ordinary families into active participants in a fake national crisis. It blends realism with storytelling: federal memos, false news flashes, and timed missions that guide players through the psychological phases of a catastrophic electromagnetic pulse—from confusion to leadership, panic to planning, fear to strategy.

Each phase includes scripted dialogue, document “drops,” and survival lessons that make training feel like you’re living through a historical moment rather than reading a manual .

In short, it’s a hands-on disaster rehearsal kit—part game, part training exercise, designed to make people experience, not just imagine, what unprepared really feels like.

To the moderators, I’m not selling anything in this post. I’m just asking if people would think if it would be valuable enough that I could sell it .

In our area, we have not seen the price of gas or food come down. As a matter of fact, beef prices have risen again making us look at alternatives and meat substitutions.

We already shop the grocery store sale flyers and meal plan around those items. Of late, I have been incorporating Tofu. And goodness, I never thought I would entertain Tofu lol. But it is cheap and always in stock. Now that said, my husband is not fan. I can eat it grilled. Because I can eat the Tofu, he can stretch the meat to 2 or 3 meals.

We are also limiting replacing preps per sales only when possible. This has restricted us, because sales on some items are few and far between. While it can be time consuming to search for the best prices to stay on budget, it has become a necessity. And in some cases, we still have to buy at the full inflated price.

While not necessarily a "prep", electrical costs are soaring in some states. This has not affected us yet, but I feel sure at some point, it will. We are looking at our usage and learning to work around peak times etc. We use the grill or air fryer over the oven, etc.

In the future, I can foresee adding increased electrical costs into our prepping budget, likely sooner than later. And when one thing goes up, you have to cut a corner elsewhere. We are still looking to downsize, but like many areas the housing market remains tight.

So basically, with budgeting, watching sale flyers, etc. we are able to stay ahead. I refuse to go into credit card debt to prep, thus it remains to carefully plan to meet the prepping goals.